ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week invited global investors and friendly countries to tap into the country’s mining sector and take advantage of its economic opportunities, state-run media reported. 

Pakistan is home to one of the world’s largest porphyry copper-gold mineral zones, while the Reko Diq mine in southwestern Balochistan province has an estimated 5.9 billion tons of ore. Barrick Gold, which owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mines, considers them one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas, and their development is expected to have a significant impact on Pakistan’s struggling economy.

In recent months, Pakistan has aggressively tried to tap into its huge reserves of natural resources to extract maximum economic advantage from them. Islamabad hosted a two-day minerals summit this month in which hundreds of delegates from around the world visited Pakistan to explore opportunities in its mining and minerals sector.  

“Pakistan is rich in talent, especially in IT and AI sectors,” Sharif said on Saturday while speaking at the three-day Health Engineering and Minerals Show [HEMS] in Lahore. 

“We are extending investment opportunities to friendly nations and inviting them to initiate joint ventures, particularly in the mining and minerals sector,” he added. 

The Pakistani prime minister stressed that over 60 percent of Pakistan’s population comprises the youth, describing them as intelligent and capable.

He called for equipping them with modern skills and professional training. 

“Our young generation is our asset, and with the right direction and innovation, they can drive Pakistan’s economic success,” he added. 

Sharif credited his government for increasing Pakistan’s exports, saying that its consistent policies had caused the country to boost production and rely less on imports. 

The exhibition featured a range of high-tech stalls showcasing agricultural machinery, precious stones, pharmaceuticals and surgical instruments, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

Dignitaries and delegates from China, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, Turkiye and other countries participated, with a total of 860 foreign delegates in attendance.

On this occasion, several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed, the APP said. 

LAHORE: A Christian man accused of blasphemy in the eastern Pakistani town of Jaranwala will appeal against a death sentence handed down by an anti-terrorism court, his lawyer said on Saturday.

The 36-year-old man was convicted of blasphemy over allegations he had desecrated the Muslim holy book, the Qur’an, claims that fueled attacks on a Christian neighborhood in 2023 in which hundreds of houses and churches were torched and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.

“We will file an appeal in the High Court against it,” his lawyer Akmal Bhatti told Reuters, referring to the verdict delivered on Friday night.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. No one has been executed by the state for it, but numerous accused have been lynched by outraged mobs.

In the southern city of Karachi on Friday, a mob of 100-200 people beat a 47-year-old Ahmadi owner of a car workshop to death with bricks and sticks. Ahmadis are a minority group that have faced attacks in Pakistan, considered heretical and accused of blasphemy by some orthodox Muslims.